Dallas, Texas

"Think about it. Wouldn't it be nice to start every day in such a relaxed manner?" enjoying their breakfast together in the dining room in their suite, Sue Ellen made conversation, adding to the list of reasons why buying or building their own home was a good idea. JR had been fairly receptive to the idea the previous evening, however, he'd also expressed a few concerns about the impact it would have on their relationship with the family, though she knew that when he said 'the family', he meant his father. Things were good between Jock, JR and Sue Ellen now, however, that change in attitude and behaviour was also still very recent and JR feared that if they made any big announcements or changes that could be perceived as negative, things would quickly slide downhill again and he really didn't want that to happen, especially not right now. Things were finally settled in regard to his future ownership and presidency of Ewing Oil, however, there was still the problem of Bobby to deal with before he could properly relax and enjoy the stability of his job. He had no doubt that when the time came for Jock to retire, there would be no fight for Ewing Oil or the positions within the company, because he planned to make sure Bobby knew and was happy with his place; he would get his personal and familial succession plan, it just wouldn't be with Ewing Oil. JR wasn't a genie though, he couldn't just make things happen, he needed a little time to work his plan and he needed his father to on his side during that time, and knowing his father, even if he did eventually accept their proposal to move to a family home of their own, it wouldn't be his first response. Therefore, for reasons related to the overall context of their lives and the positive relationships he needed to make his and Sue Ellen's future plan a success, he needed to think carefully about her suggestion before agreeing to it.

Other than the issue of getting Bobby out of Ewing Oil once and for all though, he really had no other objections to the idea of moving into their own home, and if his father and brother hadn't been on his mind, he would have already agreed to making it happen. He and Sue Ellen had spoken a little about it the previous night and since waking up together an hour ago, there hadn't been one topic of conversation that Sue Ellen hadn't somehow managed to integrate the topic of their own, private space into. First it had been their morning intimacy, then their general preparations for the day, and now it was breakfast, though he couldn't deny that she was right, it was nice to spend their morning together, going at their own pace, and he imagined that it would be nice to live in such a way in their daily lives too. "Oh, I agree wholeheartedly darlin', this has been a very relaxing and enjoyable morning and I would love to start every day just like this, especially at busy times of the year. I'm sure you're aware, but although I love Ewing Oil and the oil business, sometimes I do just want to enjoy my wife, my son, my breakfast and my morning newspaper, without having to discuss business with daddy", taking a sip of coffee, he was pleased to see her obvious happiness at his answer.

"Mm, I can understand that", grinning as he responded to her, Sue Ellen hoped that his hesitation was starting to lessen and she would soon have a more promising answer. She could deal with waiting a little while for things to calm down and return to normal at Southfork before dropping the news on the family that they intended to move out, however, her ability to wait out that time was heavily dependent on knowing that it was a done deal. She'd never really thought about it too deeply before, because she'd always just regarded it as logical that she, Mrs JR Ewing, would move into her husband's home after their wedding, even if his home happened to be the family home; she couldn't pretend that she had never considered them living on their own before though, because she had. JR had bought her an apartment for her graduation and they'd played happy, domestic couple many times there, however, it hadn't been until their honeymoon that it had hit her that the normality of their marriage when they were alone was something that was a novelty rather than an everyday occurrence. For the most part, although life at Southfork was regimented and lacked privacy, she really did like living there and she really did like being a part of a big family. The idea of her, JR and John Ross living together on their own had been on her mind more and more in recent months though, usually after returning home from a vacation or weekend away; after their small discussion the previous evening as well as her attempts at convincing JR this morning though, she was now completely sure.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she paused for a moment before speaking again, "it could be a reality, we could spend our mornings together, just the three of us. Moving away from Southfork wouldn't mean the end of our relationship with the family, it would just mean that instead of seeing them for seven breakfasts and seven dinners a week, we see them for one or two dinners a week and perhaps spend a whole day together over the weekend. I don't want us to upset the family, I just want us to have a little privacy and space to enjoy our own family. Your mama told me that the ranch house we live in now isn't the one she grew up in, she told me that your daddy built the house for her and his family. All I want is for us to have the same opportunity", speaking emotively, she paused for a moment before directly asking him again, "so, what do you think? Can we at least look into it? I don't need it to happen immediately, I just want it to happen at some point. You can deal with Bobby and keep building your relationship with your daddy, but please, also think about you, me, John Ross and what's best for our family". Waiting for an answer, she could tell from his facial expression that he was really thinking about it and from his earlier statements, she knew he was interested in the idea, however, when he responded, "yes", she still found herself surprised. "Yes?" repeating his answer back to him, she began to grin as she watched him nod and then grin, "yes. We have to make sure to time out announcement correctly and make sure to communicate our plans properly when the time does come, but other than that, I don't have any other conditions. I want this just as much as you do, I want us to be a family". Looking directly at her as he spoke, JR knew he'd made the right decision; he wanted them to be happy and this would be a large step toward making that happen; they would have to plan it well, but he was confident that everything would work out; he was JR Ewing after all.

To be continued…